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Egypt’s Beltone and Sawiris Say No Change To EFG Hermes offer

Egypt’s Beltone Financial and billionaire Naguib Sawiris said on Sunday they would not change their offer to buy 20 per cent of EFG Hermes investment bank at 16 Egyptian pounds ($2.24) per share.

EFG Hermes said on Saturday an independent financial adviser had set its fair share price at 22.93 pounds, higher than the price offered by Beltone and Sawiris’s New Egypt Investment Fund.

“The consortium of New Egypt Investment Fund and Beltone Financial announce … that they have no intention to change the offer price for the shares,” they said in a joint statement.

EFG Hermes is one of the biggest investment banks in the Middle East and a deal to buy a major stake in it could indicate revived interest in Egypt’s equity market after years of depressed activity since the 2011 revolution.

Sawiris is one of Egypt’s highest-profile business tycoons and his family own the Orascom group of companies. He spent most of last year out of the country, but after last year’s ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi he said he would spend in Egypt “like never before”.